[HN Gopher] The trouble with ingredients in sunscreens ___________________________________________________________________ The trouble with ingredients in sunscreens Author : adomasm3 Score : 59 points Date : 2023-11-07 19:46 UTC (3 hours ago) (HTM) web link (www.ewg.org) (TXT) w3m dump (www.ewg.org) | lancefisher wrote: | I've started to minimize my use of sunscreen. It still important | to stay protected from the sun, but long sleeves, hoods, hats, | and pants are a great alternative. The lightweight sun shirts are | comfortable and more convenient. | | For my kids, I got them cheap wetsuits from Amazon for the time | we spend camping at the lake. This is also cheaper than | sunscreen. They can fully manage it on their own since about age | 6 or 7. | TedDoesntTalk wrote: | this is a good solution but doesn't protect the face. zinc | oxide (physical sunscreen) is a good choice for the face that | doesn't have the problems in the article. | | Of course, zinc oxide looks terrible - white hue - but there | are some that are not as bad as others. I use Neutrogena Sheer | Zinc Kids (roll-on, so adults and kids can use it easily). | After a little rubbing, it's still noticeable but just barely. | The "regular" neutrogena sunblock - lotion style - has one or | more of the chemicals that break down into benzene. Some of | them were in the FDA recall. The EWG article doesn't mention | these break down into benzene. It shoulld. ConsumerLabs did a | thorough review and analysis. | | The summer 2023 Consumer Reports (not ConsumerLabs) article on | sunscreen had absolutely no mention of the sunscreen recalls | (2021, 2022, 2023) and in fact recommended some products that | had been recalled and are known to break down into benzene and | benzophenone. Any residual respect I had for them is now gone. | copperx wrote: | Tinted zinc oxide face sunscreen is fantastic, and it covers | face blemishes. It's like makeup lite. | | Zinc/titanium oxide for the body is a more problematic, I've | haven't found a brand that blends well. | TedDoesntTalk wrote: | Titanium dioxide protects primarily against UVB and much | less so for UVA. Zinc oxide protects against both. | stronglikedan wrote: | I found a good reef friendly zinc oxide (All Good Zinc Butter | Sunscreen) that doesn't give the white sheen when you rub it | in really well. A lil' dab'll do ya, as they say. | Moru wrote: | Don't sunscreen need to be pretty thick to be as good as it | says on the label? | talldatethrow wrote: | How does one get their required sun for vitamin D if taking | sunscreen so seriously? | TedDoesntTalk wrote: | Vitamin D supplements + Vitamin K2 | galangalalgol wrote: | I still wear a hat, or cover up entirely if I will be out | all day, but the fern based pills like helicare or | solaricare or whatever seem to prevent me from burning, or | even reverse a mild burn if I take it fast enough. I have | no idea if it is preventing dna damage that would lead to | cancer. But I get a little tan by the end of the summer. | And I've never done that before. My dermatologist | recommended it so it must be fine... | devit wrote: | A silver-coated umbrella is very effective at protecting the | face as well as some of the upper body (or the whole body, if | the sun is directly overhead or the umbrella is huge), except | for UV reflected from elsewhere which I think is usually not | significant. | deathanatos wrote: | > _cheap wetsuits_ | | See "rash guards". They're light-weight UV-opaque T-shirts that | are intended to get wet, essentially. I wear one, and I do not | burn under it, even at the beach, in the sun, all day. _Do not | forget to apply sunscreen to your hands_ , since it doesn't | cover them -- I made that mistake exactly once. (And other | exposed areas, of course.) | LorenPechtel wrote: | Never heard of them before, sounds like they might be useful. | TedDoesntTalk wrote: | I've never heard them called wet suits or rash guards. Here | we call them "sun shirts" or "UV shirts". They are most | definitely not wet suits like scuba diver gear. | scythe wrote: | Sad to see this article reach the end of the scrollbar without | even a mention of the triazine sunscreens which are pervasive in | Japan and approved in the EU with no action from the FDA. | | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bemotrizinol | | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iscotrizinol | | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethylhexyl_triazone | | _etc_ | | Concern over the FDA slow-walking approval of triazine sunscreens | was raised in the trade press no later than 2005: | | https://pubsapp.acs.org/cen/coverstory/83/8315sunscreens.htm...? | | To date there has been no movement. | _moof wrote: | Fortunately while we wait for the FDA to get its act together | we can buy triazine sunscreen relatively cheaply and have it | shipped here. I've been using Altruist: | https://altruistsun.com/ | beefman wrote: | We briefly had nanozinc, which works for hours, stays on in the | water, and is good for skin. But it was cancelled in a bout of | consumer hysteria based on nothing. Fifteen years later we're | still stuck with chemical sunscreens that are irritating, work | for 30-60 minutes at a time, wash off in the water in 2 seconds, | and may actually be bad for health. | pixl97 wrote: | >Upon inhalation of ZnO nanoparticles, serious local effects in | the lung were observed. Even if this may be due to the | solubilized Zn ions, the effects are a direct result of the | exposure to the ZnO nanoparticles. Therefore, the SCCS is of | the opinion that, on the basis of available information, the | use of ZnO nanoparticles in spray products cannot be considered | safe. | TedDoesntTalk wrote: | There are many zinc oxide sunscreens today that market | themselves as "non-nanoparticle" for this very reason. Pro | tip: don't ever use spray-on sunscreen, especially around | children who can't hold their breath. | slaymaker1907 wrote: | It's sometimes useful for areas with a bit of hair, but not | enough hair to protect the skin from the sun. However, if | you do use spray sunscreen, also make sure to do it outside | or other very well ventilated area. | beefman wrote: | Many sprays and powders are harmful to lungs, including zinc | oxide particles of any size. SCCS concluded nanozinc in non- | spray sunscreens is safe | | https://ec.europa.eu/health/scientific_committees/consumer_s. | .. | coob wrote: | What about Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate (P20) ? | | Is that available in the US? | sgt wrote: | I never use sunscreen... I just try to stay out of direct sun in | the worst parts of the day if I can. Wear a hat etc. Sun can be | pretty hot here in South Africa but that's a common approach I | think. | SoftTalker wrote: | Just basically whatever doctors and the FDA says is probably | wrong. That's the conclusion one can draw about the endless | stories like this. ___________________________________________________________________ (page generated 2023-11-07 23:00 UTC)